AGM Information • Apr 26, 2013
AGM Information
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This document is important and requires your immediate attention.
If you are in any doubt as to the action you should take, it is recommended that you seek your own personal financial advice immediately from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other independent financial adviser who, in the case of shareholders registered on the United Kingdom section of the share register, is authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
If you have sold or transferred all of your shares in Capital & Counties Properties PLC, please forward this document to the purchaser or transferee, or to the bank, stockbroker or other agent through or to whom the sale or transfer was effected for delivery to the purchaser or transferee.
I.C. Durant, Chairman I.D. Hawksworth, Chief Executive S. Das, Finance Director G.J. Yardley, Investment Director I. J. Henderson CBE G.J. Gordon A.J.M. Huntley D. Pinsent H.E. Staunton A.D. Strang
Registered Office: 15 Grosvenor Street London W1K 4QZ 22 March 2012
To the holders of ordinary shares and, for information only, to the holders of options under the Company's share schemes.
The Notice convening the 2013 Annual General Meeting is set out on pages 6 and 7 of this document. For information on how to vote at the Annual General Meeting please refer to "Action to be taken" on page 5 of this notice of Annual General Meeting.
The Company's Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2012 contains information relevant to this meeting. Shareholders who have elected to receive information from the Company in hard copy have received this document with the 2012 Annual Report, whilst shareholders receiving information electronically will be viewing this document on Capco's website (www.capitalandcounties.com) from which the 2012 Annual Report can also be downloaded.
Resolutions numbered 1 to 14 refer to items of ordinary business: to receive the accounts and the reports of the Directors and the Auditors for 2012, to declare a final dividend for 2012, to elect or re-elect Directors and to reappoint the Auditors.
Shareholders are being asked to approve a final dividend of 1.0 pence per ordinary share for the year ended 31 December 2012. If the recommended final dividend is approved, this will be paid on 20 June 2013 to all ordinary shareholders who were on the register of members on 24 May 2013.
The UK Corporate Governance Code recommends that all directors of FTSE 350 companies should be subject to annual election by shareholders. The Directors have resolved to all offer themselves for election or re-election at this Annual General Meeting.
Following a recent formal performance review of all Directors, I am pleased to confirm that the Board considers that each Director continues to make a valuable contribution to the Board's deliberations and continues to demonstrate commitment. The Board therefore unanimously recommends that each Director be elected or re-elected. Brief biographies of each Director are set out on pages 10 and 11 of this notice of Annual General Meeting.
The Board, on the recommendation of the Audit Committee, recommends the reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Auditors to hold office until the next general meeting of the Company at which accounts are presented.
There are five resolutions, numbered 15 to 19, which will be considered as special business at the Annual General Meeting. Resolutions 15 and 16 are proposed as ordinary resolutions. This means that for each of these resolutions to be passed, more than half of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Resolutions 17, 18, and 19 are proposed as special resolutions. This means that for each of those resolutions to be passed, at least three-quarters of the votes cast must be in favour of the resolution. Further information relating to each of these resolutions is set out below:
Shareholders are invited to approve the Directors' Remuneration Report, which is included in the Annual Report and provides details of the Group's remuneration policy for Directors and Senior Executives. In accordance with company law, the vote on this resolution is advisory and no Director's remuneration is conditional upon the passing of this resolution.
Under the Companies Act 2006 (the "Act") the Directors of a company may only allot unissued shares if authorised to do so by the shareholders in general meeting.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 20 April 2012, the Directors were given authority to allot new shares in the Company up to a nominal amount of £56,937,047.75, and a further authority to allot new shares in the Company up to a nominal amount of £56,937,047.75 in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue. These authorities expire at the end of this Annual General Meeting.
The authority in paragraph (i) of Resolution 16 renews the authority contained in the Company's Articles of Association that allows the Directors to allot new shares and grant rights to subscribe for, or convert other securities into, shares up to a nominal value of £62,661,971.25, representing 33.3 per cent of the Company's existing issued share capital as at 12 March 2013.
In addition, pursuant to paragraph (ii) of Resolution 16 up to £62,661,971.25 in nominal amount, representing a further 33.3 per cent of the Company's existing issued share capital as at 12 March 2013, can only be allotted pursuant to a fully pre-emptive rights issue. In accordance with the Association of British Insurers ("ABI") guidelines, the Board confirms that should this latter authority be used, all the Directors will stand for re-election at the next Annual General Meeting of the Company.
Together, paragraphs (i) and (ii) of Resolution 16 empower the Directors to allot new shares and grant rights to subscribe for, or convert other securities into, shares of the Company up to £125,323,942.50 in nominal amount, representing the ABI guideline limit of 66.6 per cent of the Company's existing issued share capital as at 12 March 2013.
If the resolution is passed these authorities will expire on 30 June 2014 or at the end of the Annual General Meeting in 2014, whichever is earlier.
Other than the allotment of shares under the terms of the share schemes operated by the Company, the Directors have no present intention to undertake a rights issue or to allot new shares.
The Directors consider it desirable to have the maximum flexibility permitted by corporate governance guidelines to respond to market developments and to enable allotments to take place to finance business opportunities as they arise.
The Company holds 431,450 treasury shares at the date of this document, which represent 0.06% of the Company's issued share capital (excluding treasury shares).
Resolution 17 empowers the Directors to allot equity securities, or sell treasury shares for cash (other than in connection with an employee share scheme) otherwise than on a pro rata basis to the Company's shareholders, as if Section 561 of the Act did not apply.
Section 561 of the Act requires that a company issuing shares for cash must first offer them to existing shareholders. Paragraph (i) of Resolution 17 authorises the Directors to allot new shares pursuant to the authority given by paragraph (i) of Resolution 16, or sell treasury shares for cash (a) in connection with a pre-emptive offer or rights issue or (b) otherwise up to an aggregate nominal amount of £9,414,097.50 representing 5 per cent of the existing issued share capital of the Company
as at 12 March 2013, in each case without the shares first being offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings. Paragraph (ii) of Resolution 17 authorises the Directors to allot new shares pursuant to the authority given by paragraph (ii) of Resolution 16, or sell treasury shares, for cash in connection with a rights issue without the shares first being offered to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings.
The Directors consider the authority in Resolution 17 to be appropriate in order to allow the Company maximum flexibility to finance business opportunities or to conduct a pre-emptive offer or rights issue without the need to comply with the strict requirements of the statutory pre-emption provisions.
A special resolution is proposed to grant the Company authority to purchase its own shares in the market.
The Directors will seek authority, to expire on 30 June 2014 or at the end of the Annual General Meeting in 2014, whichever is earlier, for the Company to purchase its own shares in the market up to a maximum of 75,269,635 shares having an aggregate nominal value of £18,817,408.75, being 10 per cent of the existing issued share capital.
The Company's exercise of this authority is subject to the stated upper and lower limits on the price payable.
As required to be stated under the UKLA Listing Rules, as at 12 March 2013 (being the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this notice), there were options outstanding to subscribe for 16,424,255 shares.
If the outstanding options were fully exercised, they would represent 2.18 per cent of the existing 752,696,353 shares (excluding treasury shares) of the Company. If the buyback authority were exercised in full, that percentage would be 2.42 per cent of the reduced share capital of 677,426,718 shares.
The Directors consider it desirable and in the Company's interests for shareholders to grant to the Company authority to exercise this power, within certain limits, to enable the Company to purchase its own shares. This authority would only be exercised if and when conditions are favourable, with a view to enhancing net asset value per share.
Any shares purchased would be held as treasury shares which may, at the discretion of the Directors, be resold for cash, transferred in connection with an employee share scheme, or
cancelled. No dividends will be paid on, and no voting rights will be exercised in respect of, treasury shares.
Under the Shareholder Rights Directive (2007/36/EC), implemented in the UK and effective from August 2009, the notice period for general meetings of the Company was increased to 21 clear days unless the shareholders agree to a shorter notice period. Under its Articles, the Company is able to call general meetings (other than an Annual General Meeting) on 14 clear days' notice and would like to preserve this ability.
Resolution 19 seeks shareholders' approval to do this, which will be effective until the Company's next Annual General Meeting, when it is intended that a similar resolution will be proposed. The Company will also need to meet the requirements for electronic voting under the Directive before it can call a general meeting on 14 clear days' notice.
Whether or not shareholders propose to attend the Annual General Meeting, it is important that they complete, sign and return a form of proxy or vote electronically as set out below. The completion and return of a form of proxy in hard copy or voting electronically will not prevent you from attending and voting at the Annual General Meeting in person if you wish.
To be valid, the form of proxy must be lodged with the Company's registrars by not later than 11.30 a.m. (London time) and 12:30 p.m. (Johannesburg time) on 1 May 2013.
Shareholders receiving hard copies of this document or a postal alert will also have received a form of proxy for voting at the Annual General Meeting. For other shareholders, a form of proxy can be downloaded from the Capco website (www.capitalandcounties.com).
UK Shareholders should return the form of proxy to the reply-paid address shown on the form or as instructed on the downloaded form of proxy or, for personal delivery, to Capita Registrars at The Registry, 34 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4TU. UK Shareholders may also give their instructions electronically via the registrar's website: www.capitashareportal.com. If their shares are held in CREST, they may if preferred give instructions electronically via CREST as detailed in the notes to the Notice of Annual General Meeting on pages 8 and 9.
SA Shareholders should return the form of proxy to the reply-paid address shown on the form or as instructed on the downloaded proxy or, for personal delivery, to Computershare Investor Services (Pty) Ltd, 70 Marshall Street, Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa, unless the shares are held through a Central Securities Depositary Participant ("CSDP") or broker, in which case the proxy voting instruction is to be provided to the CSDP or broker (as applicable) in sufficient time to permit the CSDP or broker to advise the registrar not later than 11.30 a.m. (London time) and 12:30 p.m. (Johannesburg time) on 1 May 2013 or no later than 48 hours before the meeting. Please contact your CSDP or broker for advice as to any earlier final dates for lodgement.
If you are a shareholder holding shares through a CSDP or broker and wish to attend the Annual General Meeting in person, you must request the necessary letter of representation from your CSDP or broker prior to the meeting.
The Board considers the above proposals to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of all the resolutions, as the Directors intend to do in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings, totalling approximately 32,146,403 shares, representing approximately 4.27 per cent of the existing issued share capital of the Company as at 12 March 2013.
Yours faithfully
Ian Durant Chairman
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Capital & Counties Properties PLC will be held at Four Seasons Hotel, 46 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 8RS United Kingdom on 3 May 2013 at 11.30 a.m. (London time) for the following purposes:
To consider and, if thought appropriate, pass the following resolutions:
THAT:
(i) the authority conferred on the Directors by paragraph 5.2 of Article 5 of the Company's Articles of Association be renewed for the period ending on 30 June 2014 or at the end of the Annual General Meeting in 2014 whichever is the earlier, and for such period the Section 551 Amount shall be £62,661,971.25; and
grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares up to a further nominal amount of £62,661,971.25 in connection with an offer by way of a rights issue, such authority to expire on 30 June 2014 or at the end of the next Annual General Meeting, whichever is the earlier but so that the Company may make offers and enter into agreements during the relevant period which would, or might, require shares to be allotted or rights to subscribe for, or convert other securities into, shares to be granted after the authority ends.
The authorities in this Resolution apply in substitution for all previous authorities pursuant to Section 551 of the 2006 Act.
For the purposes of the authority in paragraph (ii) above, "rights issue" means an offer to:
to subscribe for further securities by means of the issue of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable document) which may be traded for a period before payment for the securities is due, but subject in both cases to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, subscription currencies or legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws of any territory or under the requirements of any recognised regulatory body, or stock exchange, in any territory.
as if Section 561(1) of the 2006 Act did not apply to such allotment, such power to expire on 30 June 2014 or at the end of the next Annual General Meeting whichever is the earlier
but so that the Company may make offers and enter into agreements during this period which would, or might, require equity securities to be allotted after the power ends.
For the purposes of this Resolution:
"rights issue" has the same meaning as in Resolution 16 above;
"pre-emptive offer" means an offer of equity securities open for acceptance for a period fixed by the Directors to (a) holders (other than the Company) on the register on a record date fixed by the Directors of shares in proportion to their respective holdings and (b) other persons so entitled by virtue of the rights attaching to any other equity securities held by them, but subject in both cases to such exclusions or other arrangements as the Directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to treasury shares, fractional entitlements, record dates, subscription currencies or legal, regulatory or practical problems under the laws of any territory or under the requirements of any recognised regulatory body, or stock exchange, in any territory;
references to "an allotment of equity securities" shall include a sale of treasury shares; and
the nominal amount of any securities shall be taken to be, in the case of rights to subscribe for or convert any securities into shares of the Company, the nominal amount of such shares which may be allotted pursuant to such rights.
to be held in 2014, whichever is earlier (except in relation to the purchase of shares the contract for which was concluded before the expiry of such authority and which might be executed wholly or partly after such expiry) unless such authority is renewed prior to such time.
By Order of the Board
Company Secretary 22 March 2013
In order to be valid, a form of proxy, and any power of attorney or other authority under which it is executed (or a duly certified copy of any such power or authority), must be returned by one of the following methods:
To be valid, proxies must be received no later than 48 hours before the time of the Annual General Meeting or, if the meeting is adjourned, 48 hours before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting. Where shares are held by a CSDP or broker, proxy voting instructions must be provided in sufficient time to permit the CSDP or broker to advise the registrar no later than 48 hours before the time of the Annual General Meeting or any adjournment thereof. Please contact your CSDP or Broker for advice as to any earlier final dates for lodgement. Appointment of a proxy does not preclude a shareholder from attending the Annual General Meeting and voting in person.
For CREST members only:
CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies by utilising the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so for the Annual General Meeting to be held on 3 May 2013 and any adjournment(s) thereof by utilising the procedures described in the CREST Manual. CREST Personal Members or other CREST Sponsored Members, and those CREST members who have appointed a voting service provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made by means of CREST to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a "CREST Proxy Instruction") must be properly authenticated in accordance with Euroclear UK & Ireland's (EUI) specifications and must contain the information required for such instructions, as described in the CREST Manual (available via www.euroclear.com/CREST). The message, regardless of whether it relates to the appointment of a proxy or to an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer's agent (ID RA10) by the latest time(s) for receipt of proxy appointments specified in this notice of meeting. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the CREST Applications Host) from which the Company's agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed by CREST. After this time any change of instructions to a proxy appointed through CREST should be communicated to it by other means. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers should note that EUI does not make available special procedures in CREST for any particular messages. Normal system timings and limitations will therefore apply in relation to the input of CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or, if the CREST member is a CREST personal member or sponsored member or has appointed a voting service provider(s)), to procure that his or her CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s) such action as shall be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting service providers are referred, in particular, to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations of the CREST system and timings.
Ian is responsible for the leadership of the Board, ensuring its effectiveness and setting its agenda. Ian is a Chartered Accountant with a background in international financial and commercial management. Ian's career includes leadership roles with the retail divisions of Hanson and Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm International, Thistle Hotels, SeaContainers and Liberty International.
Nomination Committee (Chairman) Corporate Responsibility Committee
Eurosite Power, Inc (Advisory Board member) Greene King plc (Senior Independent Director) Greggs plc (Chairman of the Audit Committee) Home Retail Group plc
Ian leads Capco, shaping strategy and driving performance. He has over 25 years' experience in large scale global real estate development, asset and corporate management, having been a senior director of both Hongkong Land and Liberty International. Ian is a Chartered Surveyor and a member of leading international industry bodies.
Corporate Responsibility Committee Nomination Committee
Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate Japan Residential Investment Company Limited
Soumen is an experienced corporate financier responsible for leading the finance function of Capco which includes reporting, treasury, corporate finance and tax. Formerly an Executive Director of UBS specialising in real estate, he joined Capco from Liberty International having coordinated the demerger of the companies in 2010.
Gary has been a senior deal-maker in the UK and European real estate market for over 25 years. He leads Capco's real estate investment and development activities overseeing all real estate transactions. Previously Chief Investment Officer of Liberty International, Gary is a Chartered Surveyor and a former partner of King Sturge.
Formerly Chief Executive of Land Securities Group PLC, Ian, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, has been widely involved in property industry matters, including being a past President of the British Property Federation.
Committee Membership Corporate Responsibility Committee (Chairman) Remuneration Committee (Chairman) Audit Committee Nomination Committee
Graeme was a Non-executive Director of Liberty International PLC for 14 years before joining the Board in May 2010. He is the son of Sir Donald Gordon, the founder of Liberty International, and represents the Gordon Family Interests on the Board.
Creative Investments Limited Fieldstall Limited Mymarket Limited
A Chartered Surveyor with 40 years' experience who rose to be Chairman of Richard Ellis from 1993 to 2002.
Committee Membership Nomination Committee Remuneration Committee
External Appointments Ashfern Developments Ltd Intu Properties plc LondonMetric Property Plc (Chairman of the Remuneration Committee)
A former partner of McKinsey & Co, Demetra was leader of McKinsey's European Apparel, Fashion and Luxury Goods Practice for five years, and has also acted as an adviser to emerging British luxury businesses.
Committee Membership Corporate Responsibility Committee Nomination Committee
A former Finance Director in the media, hotels and leisure sectors, Henry was appointed to the Board in June 2010 and became Chairman of the Audit Committee in July 2010. Previously Finance Director of Granada and ITV.
Committee Membership Audit Committee (Chairman) Nomination Committee Remuneration Committee
Legal & General Group plc (Vice Chairman and Senior Independent Director) Merchants Trust PLC (Senior Independent Director) Standard Bank Plc (Chairman of the Audit Committee) WH Smith PLC (Senior Independent Director)
Andrew was the Managing Director of Threadneedle Property Investments Limited for 17 years until January 2008. He was Executive Chairman of Hermes Real Estate Investments Management until 2011.
Committee Membership Audit Committee Nomination Committee Remuneration Committee
AEW UK (Member of Investment and Governance Committees) British Property Federation Intu Properties plc
Norges Bank Investment Management (Real Estate Advisory Board Member)
Four Seasons Hotel, 46 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 8RS
Friday 3 May 2013 at 11:30 a.m. (London time).
The nearest London Underground station is Canary Wharf which is 15 minutes' walk from the venue. Westferry DLR Station is a few minutes' walk from the venue.
We do not permit behaviour that may interfere with anyone's security or safety or the good order of the meeting. Anyone who does not comply with this requirement may be removed from the meeting.
We do not permit cameras or recording equipment at the meeting. We would be grateful if you could ensure that you have switched off any mobile phones or any other electronic communications devices before the meeting begins.
We thank you in advance for your co-operation.
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